Small watercraft, such as kayaks, canoes, etc. are generally well known. Typically, seats for kayaks generally include a substantially horizontal seat with an integral, substantially vertical back support. Other seats have a tiltable back support which can be separately inclined relative to the horizontal support. Such seats are often constructed of molded plastic and are contoured to conform to the general shape of a person's buttocks and lower back.
A conventional kayak seat is fixed to an inside bottom surface of a kayak hull so that a person's buttocks are at the same general elevation as the person's feet, which extend forward of the seat. Adjustable foot pegs are often included along the inner gunwales of the kayak to provide longitudinal support for a person's feet in the kayak. This arrangement provides stable support for a person low within the cockpit of the kayak and enables a person to use his or her legs and body to assist in controlling the kayak's attitude and movement in the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,693 describes a kayak seat with means for adjusting the height of a seat relative to the water line in a. kayak. This reference describes a rigid seat which may be elevated using blocks or a screw-type linkage beneath the seat. The screw-type linkage requires the user to turn a knob, and subsequently an endless screw, so as to move various linkages that pivot to adjust the height of the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,651,576 describes a multi-position seat for a kayak having a pair of side elevation adjusters engaging the seat frame on its lateral sides. Each adjuster includes a thumbwheel adjuster within an elevator traveler within a side frame, the traveler engaging a threaded shaft that is held in a fixed rotational position. The frame includes a tunnel structure associated with a front cross member. A strap passes through the tunnel, exits at lateral sides of the front cross member, and connects to lateral sides of the pivotally connected back support. The strap is user-adjustable in length so that the angle of the back to the seat is adjustable.
US Patent Publication No. 2009/0038526 describes a removable seat for a kayak including a base configured to be sliadably engaged with a contoured shape on the base of the hull. The seat is operable to slide in forward and aft directions within the hull, and the seat and the base are removable from the hull.
There remains, however, a need for a new and improved seat for small watercraft which can be relatively quickly and/or easily adjusted between various seat heights.